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Seoul Korea based, autonomous transportation-as-a-service (TaaS) startup, 42dot has closed a $88.5 million (104 billion WON) Series A round. Participating in the round was We Ventures, Lotte Ventures, Shinhan Financial Group, STIC Ventures, DA Value Investment and Winvest Venture Capital.

According to 42dot officials, the funding was the largest Series A round for any Korean start-up. In September 2019, the company secured $42 million (₩ 30 billion) in a pre–Series A round led by Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, CJ Logistics, LG Electronics, and SK Telecom. 42dot has raised a total of $130 million (₩153 billion) to date.

Funding Two Solutions
42dot representatives have indicated that the funding will be used to further develop the company’s AKit autonomous-driving technologies and TAP! Mobility platform. AKit, which includes both sotware and hardware, eschews LiDAR, relying solely on cameras and radar for sensing. 42dot wants its technology ready to integrate into automotive manufacturer’s vehicles by the fourth quarter of 2023.

The investment will also be utilized to advance 42dot’s Urban Mobility Operating System (UMOS) integration platform for land and air transport services. As part of that initiative, 42dot will acquire additional autonomous driving vehicles and develop more pilot projects and trials. By 2024, 42dot aims to provide autonomous taxi and shuttle bus services to the city of Sejong.

Founded in 2019, 42dot is headed by CEO Chang-Hyeon Song, who is also president of the newly formed (April 2021) TaaS group at Hyundai Motors.